There are many types of topical products ("products" herein interchangeably referred to as "substances") that are commercially available and/or commonly applied to a desired target surface in the form of a thin film or coating to protect, treat, modify, etc. the target surface. Such products include those in the skin care, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and other personal care arenas. One common example of such a product is the antiperspirant/deodorant type of product, many of which are formulated as sprays, roll-on liquids, gels, creams, or solid sticks, and comprise an astringent material, e.g. zirconium or aluminum salts, incorporated into a suitable topical carrier. These products are designed to provide effective perspiration and odor control while also being cosmetically acceptable during and after application onto the axillary area or other areas of the skin. The nature of these products require protection against volatile losses and excessive deformation that can damage the product rheology, cause product separation, or otherwise harm performance.
Examples of suitable perforated caps or other shear force delivery means for use with such packaged compositions include those known in the art for application of creams, or those delivery means that are otherwise effective for delivering the composition of the present invention to the skin. Some examples of such perforated caps or other shear force delivery means, and some dispensing packages for use with compositions herein, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,356, issued to Johnson et al. on Mar. 19, 1991, which description is incorporated herein by reference.
While such delivery means have proven successful in applying such substances and protecting against volatile losses and product separation, in many instances a comparatively complex supply mechanism is required in order to dispense the product for application by shear force delivery means. This in turn typically requires a comparatively large canister to house not only the desired quantity of product but also the product retention and supply mechanism as well. The benefit of protective functionality also typically requires even travel size canisters for both elevator-type and push-up-stick packages to have considerable weight and occupy considerable volume, thus limiting the ability of the consumer to readily transport such devices. Moreover, such constructions can limit the application feel by being hard to the touch and not conforming to the target surface
Sachets, pouches, and similar small packages can be protective and contain the product, but application of products invariably gets product on hands, or is uncomfortable when the package contacts skin. These are simply small packages, and not truly applicators. Prior art discloses ways of making the packages and applicators with separate handle parts, or with separate/additional dispensing parts that are more comfortable on the skin. Addition of these parts reduce the ease of use, and sometimes require additional packaging for protection, containment, etc. Examples of these types of packages/applicators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,053,242, 4,101,053, 5,842,488, 6,026,535, and 5,904,151.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide such an applicator which provides a removable cover sheet which aids in the containment of the substance and also contributes to a pre-removal stiffness value for the applicator such that the pre-removal stiffness value is at least three times greater than a post-removal stiffness value for the applicator. The stiffness of the removable cover sheet can also provide protection against bending that could lead to failure of the containment, against puncture, and against other damage to the product rheology, homogeneity, etc.